San Carlo Bristol - Bristol, City of

Upon being seated at a table, we had no complaints about the food or table service, both of which were very good. However, upon our arrival at the restaurant, we were completely ignored by several passing staff members while we waited to be seated. There was no eye contact, acknowledgement, or smile, which left us with a very rude and unfriendly first impression.

A long established and popular restaurant on the popular Corn Street strip, this certainly has something of a bling factor to it and appears to be a bit of a celebrity hangout going on all the pictures on the walls. Although I did not study them, I did notice Tom Jones amongst them. The menu is very comprehensive and there should be something to suit all tastes, no matter what your preferences are. That said, the drinks choice was very disappointing, with nothing on tap and no beers at all, so I had to settle for a lager and even these were only available in small 330ml bottles. Service too seemed a little slow, we had chosen what we wanted for quite some time before anyone came back to take our order. I opted for the Ravioli all'Astice, ravioli filled with lobster and crab meat in a light creamy and pink peppercorn sauce. First impressions were that it was quite small, I think there were just three, or maybe four ravioli served up on an oblong plate. They were of course somewhat bigger than the usual ravioli that you might be used to, but even so, it seemed more like a starter than a main course. That said, it was certainly quite tasty and I enjoyed what there was of it. For desert I went for the Meringata alle Fragole, their “amazing” meringue cake with strawberries, although on this occasion the waiter advised that it was actually with maraschino cherries. I wasn’t too sure about this having been looking forward to some sort of Eton Mess type dish, but I needn’t have worried, the cherries were lovely and sweet and probably far nicer than strawberries would have been. The meringue cake too was very tasty, the meringue wasn’t really that obvious it was just crumbled up in amongst the other ingredients, but the overall result was certainly amazing as promised. Overall then, a bit of a mixed bag. A real buzzy atmosphere, friendly staff and tasty food, but slow service and small portions, at least for the main course, and a very poor drinks selection.

Great food quality and variety, great service, lovely atmosphere

Table booked for a birthday meal. Waited around for someone to check booking and show us to our table. Person who took our order was bordering on rude when asked about certain dishes. We’re not made to feel welcome in any shape or form. Table was just under speaker and so we had to shout across to each other so we could talk. Food was overpriced for what it was. £5 for chips which tasted like fries from maccies. With so much salt on them they were barely edible! We all agreed we could have made better at home and would not return. Very disappointing birthday meal.

The restaurant served very generous portions, everything was delicious, and the service was excellent.